The perishable foods sections of most supermarkets and grocery stores such as the meat department, bakery, deli and produce department, typically include one or more in-store scales having printers for printing labels with item name, weight or count, and price information. The labels are then applied to the packaged items. Many such printers are provided as part of in-store scales or systems including scales.
Increasingly, in-store equipment such as scales/scale systems may include a communications link for receiving information from sites external to the store. As used herein the term scale system refers to any scale device or any larger device that includes a scale, such as a weigh/wrap machine.
It is known to provide coupon dispensing printers at the point of sale in supermarkets and groceries. Typically such coupon dispensers print coupon or other incentive information on paper stock based upon purchases made or not made by the consumer. Product manufacturers, distributors, advertisers and store operators are continually looking for new and improved ways to market and advertise products within the store. Accordingly, using in-store scales to produce product pricing labels having a detachable coupon part pursuant to the teachings contained in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0211600 A1 provides various advantages. As described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0211600 A1 in one technique a label output from the scale may have a detachable coupon part with a fold line that allows a coupon bar code to be folded under the label so that the coupon bar code faces downward against a package to which the label is subsequently applied. It would be desirable to provide a label structure, technique and apparatus for facilitating this folding operation.